NYPD probes death of man after police encounter

The relatives of a man whose life ended after police responded to a 911 call at his Soundview apartment are demanding answers, and the NYPD is investigating the case.

Police say Mario Ocasio, 51, resisted arrest when they responded to two 911 calls made at around 8:15 a.m. Monday about a man with scissors at a Loring Place North apartment. Ocasio's girlfriend, Geneice Lloyd, says she called police after Ocasio swallowed an unknown substance and became irate. Lloyd says Ocasio then lay on the floor.

Lloyd claims responding officers used excessive force against Ocasio. She says although Ocasio was on the floor, police grabbed and handcuffed him. She says officers then beat Ocasio and used a stun gun.

News 12 obtained images of Ocasio that show wires from the stun gun still lodged in his back. He was pronounced dead at North Central Bronx Hospital 95 minutes after police received the 911 calls.

Police say Ocasio resisted arrest after five officers repeatedly asked him to drop scissors that he was holding and that EMS personnel injected Ocasio with drugs meant to reverse the effects of heroin.

"They should learn how to subdue people," says Nathan Cruz, Ocasio's nephew. "It was more than one or two cops. He's a 51-year-old man."

Lloyd claims police confiscated her cellphone for evidence in the incident and that they erased video of the altercation. Police officials say they are unaware of any cellphone video in the case.

The medical examiner has completed a preliminary autopsy of Ocasio, but findings from the autopsy will undergo further study, officials say.